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Thursday, Nov 6, 2008, 12:44 pm

Coleman’s ethics problems go beyond his threads

In the past month Senator Norm Coleman's embattled campaign had to deal with revelations that his swank wardrobe was paid for by a big donor to his campaign. Just days before election day, however, a far more serious claim came to light regarding Coleman's personal use of campaign contributions that needs investigating. TPM's got more:

As we've noted, the Coleman-Franken race is going to a recount. So it's definitely not over. But if it should soon prove to be over, and Coleman wins a second term in the senate, let's not forget about those charges that surfaced in the last few days of the race. According to claims contained in court filings (statements made under penalty of perjury), Coleman's sugar daddy Nasser Kazeminy funnelled $75,000 for Coleman's personal use by channelling it through cut-out 'work' by Coleman's wife, an actress and sometime inventor who obtained an insurance license only in late 2006. We took a wait and see approach in the waning days of the election, because these were just charges and a lot of stuff gets thrown around in the final days of a campaign. So caution was merited.

But more sources are coming forward now, who make me think these charges, and others, are the real thing. And as you know, bribes to members of Congress are strictly frowned upon. And increasingly so.

Jarrett Dapier is a former assistant publisher at In These Times. Previous work for ITT includes interviews with playwright Christopher Shinn and Fugazi guitarist, Ian Mackaye. He currently works with teens at the Evanston Public Library where he runs a recycled drumming program and directs stage adaptations of young adult literature. He lives in Evanston, IL.